A few weeks ago I was on the East Coast with my husband. We had a wonderful time in Washington D.C. and in Pennsylvania where my sister-in-law and her family live in the middle of beautiful Amish country. We also had one day in Baltimore. Not much time, but enough to visit Fort McHenry where Francis Scott Key penned the Star-Spangled Banner – what an incredible piece of history.

An afternoon at Inner Harbor

And of course, how could you visit Baltimore without Crab Cakes for lunch . . .

Which brings me to the topic of today’s recipe. After having these amazing crab cakes I decided I should come home and make my own {since I don’t get to Baltimore very often}.

After searching for just the right recipe, I settled on this one from Cook’s Illustrated {always a reliable source}. Most of the crab cakes recipes I looked at were bound with mayo and eggs, but I was intrigued because this recipe uses a “delicate shrimp mousse” to hold everything in place and enhance the crabmeat flavor. Sounded good to me- and they definitely are good. I was not disappointed at all!

These crab cakes would be perfect for upcoming holiday dinners and entertaining {I may have to start a new Christmas Eve Tradition}, yet they are also light enough for summer pool parties. The recipe makes 8 crab cakes, but you could make 16 small ones to serve as appetizers. The Rémoulade Sauce is very good, without being overly complicated. It’s just a classic combination.

Note: There are a lot of steps to follow, but I promise they are not hard . . . you can do it!

Crab Cakes with Rémoulade

Ingredients

1 pound lump crabmeat, picked over for shells

1 cup milk

1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs

Salt and pepper

2 celery ribs, chopped

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 garlic clove, peeled and smashed

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

4 ounces shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tails removed

1/4 cup heavy cream

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (I used Tabasco)

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

Instructions

Note: Fresh crabmeat will make these crab cakes taste even better. With packaged crab, if the meat smells clean and fresh when you first open the package, skip steps 1 and 4 and simply blot away any excess liquid.

1. Place crabmeat and milk in bowl, making sure crab is totally submerged. Cover and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.